'Supernatural' Anime Rebirth Makes History

I'm not a fan of anime. I have friends who're hardcore otaku and they've tried countless times to get me interested in these cartoons from Japan, but they've just never clicked for me. Sure, I don't mind Ninja Scroll, and I'm such a deviant that I'll watch almost any hentai with girls and tentacles, but I don't ever find myself thinking "man, I'm really in the mood for some anime today." In fact, I could go the rest of my life without ever seeing another one and die without feeling deprived.

That could change, though. AnimeNewsNetwork is reporting that venerable Japanese anime studio Madhouse (who brought you such titles as Death Note and Paprika) will be producing Supernaturalthe Animation -- a new series inspired by Warner Bros.' hit series Supernatural.

According to Cinema Today, this marks the first time in history that a Japanese studio has crafted an animated project based on a popular overseas series.

The anime' first season will feature 22 episodes. These will be pulled from the live action program's first and second season, but will also include some new stories created solely for this project. Supernatural will be broken up into three releases in Japan. The first set, containing episodes 1 and 2 hits on January 12th. Episodes 3-12 debut in February, and then the final set bows in April.

The CW show follows brothers Sam and Dean Winchester, "hunters" who track down supernatural monsters while also working to stop an impending Armageddon. It's set to enter its sixth season this fall. No word on when this might turn up in America, but we'll let you know if there's an announcement.